1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a monolithic ceramic electronic component including a ceramic body in which a plurality of ceramic layers are stacked and a plurality of outer electrodes disposed on an outer surface of the ceramic body and a monolithic ceramic electronic component.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, miniaturization and increases in electrostatic capacities of monolithic ceramic electronic components, e.g., monolithic ceramic capacitors, have been required. Consequently, the number of stacking of inner electrodes has increased. As the number of stacking of the inner electrodes increases, the inner electrodes are tightly packed in an opposite region serving as a portion in which inner electrodes connected to different potentials are opposite to each other in the stacking direction. That is, the density of inner electrodes increases in the opposite region.
On the other hand, in an extension region serving as a portion in which the inner electrodes are not opposite to each other, the extended inner electrodes are connected to the same potential among the inner electrodes connected to the different potentials. Consequently, the density of the inner electrodes does not increase to the extent of that in the opposite region. Therefore, as the number of stacking of the inner electrodes increases, a difference in the density of the inner electrodes between the opposite region and the extension region becomes large.
If a difference in the density of the inner electrodes between the opposite region and the extension region becomes large, the pressing pressure is not easily applied to the extension region in which the density of the inner electrodes is small, and delamination occurs easily between the inner electrodes and the ceramic layers.
As for a measure against the delamination, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2-161713 discloses a method in which an upper surface and a lower surface of a ceramic multilayer material are covered with rubber, and isostatic pressing is applied.
According to the isostatic pressing described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2-161713, the delamination does not occur easily, although the corner portions 101a of the resulting ceramic multilayer body 101 may be rounded, as shown in FIG. 5. The corner portions 101a are disposed in an extension region where the density of inner electrodes is small and, therefore, compression in the stacking direction occurs easily by pressing as compared with that in an opposite region. The ceramic multilayer body having round corner portions stands up in the mounting easily, so that a so called tombstone phenomenon may occur.